The psychology of ailments and Arab leaders’ cure [Archives:2006/930/Opinion]
Atif Awad
The Arab leader has remained for centuries finding no treatment for his ailments other than unlawfully seizing his neighbor's territory or interfering in his affairs. This is especially true if his neighbor is smaller, weaker and less populated.
Similarly, the leader of the small state could pay indefinitely from his own wealth to intrigue against his neighbor exceeding him in area, power and population. This is still the prescription that leaders of small and large Arab states see no better remedy than. Yet they rely on such remedy to cure their sickness, deterioration and aggravation of their people's problems, though such remedy was the real reason for their illness.
The disease's symptom remained the Arab leadership's methodology. Ironically, the treatment continued to be the disease. Iraq's Ba'ath Party policy used the same treatment method to invade neighboring little brother Kuwait, thinking invasion was the political solution to their people's economic problem. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the fatal virus that brought about their end. Nevertheless, the smaller neighbor is not free of blame in invoking plots and intrigues to cure its ailment too.
The methodology of ailments treatment continues to be the self same one in nearly all Arab countries. It is a vicious cycle they cannot get rid of, despite disasters their nations suffer at the hands of such wicked methods. Let us take a look at our contemporary history to consider our leaders' prescriptions.
Syria and Lebanon drank the same leaders' medication. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen have the same virus of border conflicts and thus, did not escape these ailments. Egypt and Sudan also have been into this sickness and cure. Libya went to the extent that Libyan agents bought Egyptian food commodities and threw them into the Nile to create food crises. Egyptians retaliated by invading Libyan borders. Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Polisario (a Sahrawi movement working for Western Sahara independence) all are still entangled in the Sahara conflict.
It is the Arab nations who are the losers, being forced to drink from this cursed medicine prescribed by their leaders. And they will continue to be violated nations as long as their leaders do not stop thinking of invading, annexing and intriguing against each other.
Atif Awad is an Egyptian journalist and short story writer residing in Yemen.
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[archive-e:930-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-03-20-p:opinion]
